Radiant: Part 2
by InkStainedAnomaly
Summary: After hearing a cry for help, Emma returns to find the Narnia she knows on the brink of extinction. With no Aslan in sight, Emma's faith is tested as she fights to piece together the identity too many have forgotten, even as her own memories awaken. Bloodlines are reforged as ancient forces of fire and ice stir once more. For who ever heard of a witch who really died? PrinceCaspian
1. We Have to Get Back

**A/N: Welcome to Part 2, dear readers! I'll go ahead and apologize for leaving you guys in such emotional turmoil at the end of Part One. I have never claimed to be anything but a villain. So, for this installment, I will mostly be following movie verse, with some book verse here and there. **

**Prologue**

As soon as I awoke, I started drawing again. I knew I had a small window before I lost the picture. I nearly knocked my lamp off the table in my haste to turn it on. My pencils were right where I had left them on my desk only a few hours before. I grabbed them and began furiously scribbling on the page. Desperation flooded my fingers as I fought to keep the face clear in my mind long enough to transfer it onto the paper. The London sky was still dark when I set my pencil down and looked at what I had drawn. I heard the clock chime downstairs—it was two in the morning.

Even in the greys of my drawing pencils, I could imagine her brown eyes and blond hair. I let out a breath and leaned back in my chair, glad I had finally dreamed of her again, even if it wasn't a magical one. I knew the familiar tug of a vision led by my connection to her, but this had been different. I suspected it was just a normal dream spurred by my subconscious, grabbing onto vague memories buried in my mind. The longer I looked at the drawing, the more my eyes burned. I took my pencil again and scribbled her name at the bottom.

_Auren. _

I had no trouble remembering my aunt, remembering how we met and all the stories she had told me. But the longer we were in England, the harder it was for me to picture her face.

In the weeks following our return from Narnia, I had dreamed of Auren often, though the pictures were unclear and confusing. I saw her and Thalen alongside Nyx, but I could never make out exactly what was happening or what they were doing. I spoke with the Pevensies about Narnia often, about our adventures there and the friends we hoped to see again soon. That was easy. But the more specific we tried to get, the more blurred our memories became.

"It's because we're the right ages again," Susan had said. "If we remembered everything clearly from before, we would be thinking like adults, not kids."

I had to admit it made sense. We had to lose the maturity we had gained during our time there. But the dreams I had at first helped. It was a comfort to know all was well in Narnia once we returned to Professor Kirk's. Then, as months passed, we eventually came back to London. Back to our regular lives. Even back to school.

And the dreams stopped.

Now, it was the end of summer again. It had been a year and a half since we had returned.

I flipped through the pages of the sketchbook Peter had given me for my sixteenth birthday, just as we came back to London. I suppose he had gotten tired of my complaining about losing my old one in the river in Narnia. The pages were filled with the scenes that flooded my dreams—Nyx sitting primly in a window, the Beavers standing inside their cottage where we had first met them, Mr. Tumnus bent over a table of books, and now Auren looking down and laughing at something. I wondered what she was looking at.

I gazed out my window, the street below quiet and the moon hidden behind the clouds. I must have left my latch loose as my window slowly came open. I stood to close it, but a soft breeze touched my face, warmer than it should be.

I closed my eyes. _Aslan,_ I thought, then stopped. I couldn't form the whole sentence even in my mind. All I could think was, _home_. It was a plea. _Home_.

My heart pounded as my temperature rose. The breeze picked up, but then it died. The heat I thought I had felt was gone. When I opened my eyes, I still stood in my bedroom. I stood there for several minutes before sighing in defeat. I still felt restless, almost buzzing with uncomfortable energy. It reminded me of the feeling I got when I thought someone had called my name, but I couldn't quite hear them.

**Chapter One**

My school uniform hung from my closet door. My stomach turned at the sight of it. In the morning, the Pevensies and I would be returning to school for the next term. I knew I needed to get some sleep, but I felt restless.

Then I remembered the fruitcake Mum had made earlier that day. We had far fewer desserts around since the war started, but she had made it special for my last night at home. There was still some sitting on the counter. I could almost hear Peter making fun of me as I crept out of my room. He always said fruitcake tasted like a brick of rotting garbage, but I had to admit it was always my favorite.

I shuffled down to the kitchen and cut a slice of the fruitcake as quietly as I could. Just as I took a huge bite, a ghostly figure danced across my vision of a girl in a long, white dress. I gave a small cry, muffled by the cake in my mouth.

The girl came back into focus, still shimmering and not quite solid in front of me. Her hair was strikingly dark, but her face was almost as white as her dress. She was around my age, perhaps even younger. I knew at once that I was looking at another Eshwen. She seemed to be in pain, but when her eyes locked on mine, her expression changed to relief and joy.

"It worked," she gasped. "It's you. Your Majesty!"

Her voice sounded hollow and echoed as though she were in a cave. She bowed deeply.

"Who are you?" I tried to ask, but it came out in a mumble. Crumbs fell as I tried to quickly chew and swallow, but the cake seemed to be growing in my mouth.

"I don't have much time," she said, her image already growing dimmer. "But we need you, My Queen. Please. We don't know what's happening. We need a teacher again."

I finally spit the cake into my hand.

"What's happening?" I gasped.

"We're dying," she said. "Please, you have to—"

Then she was gone.

"Emma?" Mum called as she came running in. "Are you all right? Who were you talking to?"

She glanced down. "What's in your hand?"

"I…choked," I said. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I would have some cake, and I choked…on it."

Mum stared at me, not quite with suspicion, but clearly not fully believing me.

I decided to deflect.

"I'm nervous about going back to school," I said with a heavy sigh. "It's always hard without…Mary."

I felt guilty bringing this up to cover the truth, but I couldn't exactly tell her what had happened.

"I know," Mum said gently. "I miss her, too."

She turned to walk away, then stopped and looked at me again.

"Emmy, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?" she said. "Even Mary."

I was a little taken aback. That was the first time Mum had said her name in months. We didn't speak of her often. It had only been a few weeks ago that had I convinced Mum to let me go in Mary's room. I had stripped the bed and folded the clothes on the floor, then shoved as much as I could into the small closet. It still mostly looked like Mary's room, but at least it wasn't holding its breath waiting on her return, though Mum still preferred the door to be closed.

"I know, Mum," I said.

"And you can talk to me about any boys that might have caught your eye as well," she said. "I really don't mind."

Maybe I should have been embarrassed by that, but I knew she didn't want me to do what Mary had done. She wanted me to be honest with her.

"I'll keep that in mind if any do, Mum," I smiled. "I think I'll try to sleep again."

I went back upstairs as quickly as I could without running. I closed my door behind me and immediately flung open the window. I threw my half-chewed cake into the bushes and climbed into the tree beside the house as I had done so many times before.

It occurred to me that I hadn't put on shoes when I hit the damp dirt, but I shrugged and ran through the bushes. I climbed over the fence separating our yard from the Pevensie's and back up into a tree next to their house. I knocked softly on the upstairs window. No answer. I knocked again. A lamp came on and Peter's face appeared on the other side of the glass. His eyebrows went up in surprise, but he grinned and opened the window.

"Can I help you, my lady? You seem to have found yourself in a tree," he said.

His hair was flat against his head on one side, the other sticking practically straight up. He propped his elbow on the windowsill and leaned forward. I suddenly realized he wasn't wearing a shirt. I felt my face getting red and became much more aware that I was wearing a thin, white nightgown and had not bothered to put on a robe.

His expression changed to concern. "Emma, what's wrong? You look upset."

"I…" I felt stupid. "I'm sorry. I should've waited until morning. I shouldn't have—"

"Hey," he said. "What's going on?"

I tried to only focus on his face and told him as quickly and quietly as I could, leaving out the bit about the fruitcake. The lines on his face deepened as I spoke.

"What do we do, now?" I asked.

"I don't know," he admitted. "We have no way of getting to Narnia on our own." He balled his fist angrily. "We_ should_ be able to get back."

"I thought we would be back by now," I said.

"Are you getting sick of all this, too?" he asked, a flash of anger in his eyes.

I looked away. "Well, we're not royals here. Things are different."

He kept waiting until I nodded. "Yeah," I admitted. "I'm sick of it, but there's nothing we can do about it, all right?"

We sat for a moment in silence.

"I'm sorry I woke you. I just needed to tell someone," I said.

I had the sudden desire to climb in his window and fall asleep beside him. My face went hot again at the thought. I had no idea where that had come from.

"Well, at least it's a lot easier for you to sneak over to me here than it is at school," he said.

I had to match his smile. "Not that it's stopped us," I said.

It was true. We always found a way to see each other outside of the visiting days. But the thought made me a little sad. Things would be changing this year. We were getting older, and people might talk.

_"Something like this could ruin Emma's reputation, too."_ Mum's words from the morning Mary left still echoed in my head. Reputation. The word got even louder the longer Peter stared at me.

"I should go," I said suddenly. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

Peter looked startled by my change in demeanor. "Okay," he said. "Careful climbing down. You're not as young as you used to be."

"I'm not as old as I used to be either," I whispered through my hushed laughter. "Goodnight, Pete."

He chuckled in response and closed his window.

OoOoO

The next morning was madness as we tried to get to the train station on time, but we actually arrived with some to spare. Susan somehow looked like she had stepped out of a magazine advertising uniforms. Standing next to her, I felt like I should have listened to Mum's advice on my hair. Mum and Susan had started trying to convince me to wear my hair up in a more grownup style, but I had insisted on keeping it down or in a braid. I told them I would wait until seventeen. I didn't mention that I liked wearing my hair the way I did in Narnia. I only had a few weeks left until I turned seventeen, but beside Susan, I felt like I looked twelve.

Susan walked across the street while the rest of us looked for a place to sit. We eventually found a bench and Peter wandered off to get us some sweets from the cart.

"Peter told us what happened last night," Edmund said. "Who do you think the girl was?"

I had been up most of the night trying to work it out.

"I can't figure it out," I said. "She's no one I knew in Narnia. And how could there be one I didn't know about?"

Edmund shook his head.

Lucy leaned over to me. "I was thinking what if—"

But I never got to hear what she was trying to say. A commotion started in the direction Peter had gone.

"Oh no," Edmund said and took off running toward it.

I took Lucy's hand and ran after him. A crowd had already formed by the time we got there, everyone shouting "fight! Fight! Fight!" My stomach tightened when I saw Peter in the middle of it, fighting four boys who were all bigger than him.

"Not again," I said under my breath. "Go get Susan!" I told Lucy.

I wasn't sure how helpful Susan would be, but at least it would get Lucy out of the crowd. I knew it wouldn't be long before Edmund tried to jump in. Plus, there were a few constables around the corner. I had to try to break this up before they stepped in.

"Oi!" I screamed. "Knock it off!"

I pushed my way into the fight and tried to push the boys apart.

"Stop it!" I shouted. "Peter, stop!"

One of the boys flew back into me and knocked me down. I got back up and pushed him out of the way.

"All of you, stop!" I said, but the crowd drowned me out.

Peter met my eyes for a second. I hope he saw how angry I was.

"Stop it!" I screamed at him.

I had just heard police whistles blowing when I caught one of the boys' fists squarely on the nose. My eyes instinctively watered, and I fell back onto the ground. There was more whistling, and the crowd began to thin.

"Are you all right?" I heard a man's voice say.

I could feel my pulse in my nose. I was bleeding a little, but it didn't seem broken. I blinked as quickly as I could to be able to see again and looked up at the constable.

"Yes, sir," I said.

He reached out a hand and helped me up.

"I would think twice before jumping into a man's fight next time, kid," he said. "It's agood way to get yourself hurt."

I cringed a little as he said it. He walked away as Peter hurried to my side.

"Emma! What happened! Are you—"

"No, I am not okay, Peter," I snapped.

Lucy was looking at Edmund who had apparently jumped in when I did. He looked unharmed, but it made me even angrier.

"You're not a king here!" I hissed.

I didn't wait to see his reaction. I hurried away to the women's room to look at the damage. In the mirror, I could see my nose already starting to swell a little. It would bruise nicely. I was washing away the blood when Susan walked in.

"Can I see?" she asked.

I didn't respond, simply turned my head for her to inspect my nose. She touched it gingerly, and I winced.

"Well, that will be a battle wound tomorrow," she said.

I rolled my eyes. "These are my battle wounds now? All hail Lady Emma, Knight of Narnia."

Susan looked around to make sure no one had heard me.

"You and Peter both need to get it in your heads that we live _here._ Not in Narnia," She said. "No amount of fighting will change that."

"Don't you think I know that?" I said. "I didn't start the fight! I was trying to stop it!"  
"You were trying to be the hero, Emma," Susan said. "It doesn't work that way here."

I closed my eyes and let out a breath. "Can you just give me a minute?" I said. "I'll be out soon."

She nodded and walked out. I looked at myself in the mirror again. Susan was right. I wasn't a warrior here. I was just a silly schoolgirl with a bruised nose.

Then I heard it. Someone was calling out to me.

My hair suddenly stood on end. Chills raced over me. A loud, rushing noise started from the other side of the door. I moved to open it, but it tore away. In front of me it looked like a train was going by so fast it was a blur. Then I could see glimpses of a forest on the other side.

"Emma," I heard a voice say clearly in my mind. I could finally hear what I had felt for days. "Emma!"

I tried to run out to find the others, but I was stuck to my place. The walls of the station tore away into oblivion. The wind came faster and faster until I had to close my eyes against it. Then it stopped. I blinked my eyes open in the sunlight. I stood in a vast forest under a blue sky.

Just in front of me was a lamppost.

**A/N: I know it's not quite fair that you had to wait all this time for such a short chapter, but…life isn't fair. No worries, the next chapter will be longer. Thank you to everyone who came from Part 1! If you haven't read Part 1, I suggest you go back and do so as you will be EXTREMELY confused. Please review!**

—**Liv**


	2. Breathing Through It

**A/N: I am so, so sorry about how long this took. I started freelance writing from home, then the holidays got really busy, plus I've been ridiculously sick the past two months. Why, you ask? Well, my husband and I found out the week of Christmas that I'm pregnant! I'm due at the end of August, and the morning (more like literally all day) sickness has been REAL. Luckily, it's started to fade some, so writing has gotten easier. Anyway, be sure to keep reading for fun pregnancy anecdotes. Drop a review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the **_**Chronicles of Narnia**_**.**

Chapter 2

The iron of the lamppost was cool against my fingertips even in the summer air. I stared at it a moment longer in awe before a broad grin broke out on my face, and I took off running due east. As I ran, I stripped off my tie and undid the top buttons of my uniform. My skirt slowed me down a little, and I couldn't wait to get out of my blazer. The air of Narnia ran through my loose hair and spurred me on to run even faster.

"Nyx!" I shouted as I started down the hill to her home. "Nyx, I'm back!"

Visions of her through the years came into focus in my mind. I imagined seeing her surprise and hoped she would hear me and run out to meet me. I could almost feel her standing on my shoulder again, her tail wrapping around my neck. Strength surged through my limbs as Narnia soaked into me.

But when the caves came in sight, I slowed to a stop.

"Nyx?" I called again, but I didn't really expect an answer this time.

Most of the entrances to the cave homes were grown over with vines or filled in with boulders. There were no signs anyone had ever lived there at all. I glanced around—had I gone the wrong way? But I knew I hadn't. It reminded me of when Lucy had shown us Mr. Tumnus' house when we first came to Narnia, only to find it ransacked and abandoned. Nevertheless, I walked forward to where her home should be. I moved a tangle of ivy aside and found the entrance. Spiderwebs dangled in the opening with nothing but dirt and dust and rock inside.

"Nyx?" I whispered.

Not even an echo answered me.

I remembered a dryad who had lived next to Nyx's cave, but even her tree was gone. A sense of dread began to grow in me. I turned and ran the other direction with more alarm than excitement. The Beavers were close by, too. Surely, they could tell me where Nyx was. I broke through the trees to Beaver's Dam.

And once again slowed to a stop.

There was no trace of the dam I knew. Even the river that had once run alongside it had grown and completely changed the shape of the shore.

Auren. I could find Auren. I closed my eyes and concentrated, seeking her out. I must have stood like that for several minutes before I sank to the ground. I had reached out for her only to find nothing. There was no trace of her or Maris or even Thalen. I couldn't feel any of them.

"Aslan?" I whispered.

But the only answer I got was the rushing water of the river.

The sound of the water made me realize something else: the woods were silent. A few birds sang and the breeze rustled some leaves, but there was no real life here. I heard no fauns practicing their pipes or badgers and beavers going about their work. I couldn't feel the presence of the tree spirits or hear the watery laughter of the naiads. And where were the Pevensies? I couldn't believe the thought hadn't occurred to me before. They had been out on the platform. Had they come back, too? Surely Aslan wouldn't have sent me alone…but if they had come, where were they? I was definitely in Narnia.

But what in Aslan's name had happened here?

I could feel panic beginning to inch its way in, but I focused on the oxygen flowing into me and tried to center myself the way Auren had taught me. I imagined myself back on our island, her flame right next to mine. I concentrated on each part of me individually until all of me was buzzing with awareness. Then I opened my eyes and looked down at my hand. I created a flame above each of my fingers. The more air I breathed in, the bigger the fire got until my hand was fully ablaze. I felt as though I was waking up again, shaking off the drowsiness of England.

I gasped and pressed my palms against my temples. My mind felt crowded as though other things were pushing their way in. My body responded to the pain and panic, and my temperature shot up. I tried to pull it back down, but I was out of practice. My temperature climbed until sparks shot out of my hands. I sank my fingernails into the soil, gritting my teeth against the waves of heat and pain rolling over me. It all culminated in my head until it felt like it would explode. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the feeling began to fade into just a pressure, then just a presence. No, not one presence. Many. More than I had ever felt.

My breathing slowly returned to normal, and I opened my eyes. The grass around me was singed, my clothes vaguely smelling like smoke. I let out a long breath before I got to my feet. I looked around again and noticed the sun was just beginning to sink into the horizon. How long had I been here? Had it even been morning when I arrived?

"Hey! You there!"

My head snapped up at the man's voice. Four men in armor were riding I cursed myself for having been too preoccupied to have heard them coming. Their armor was distinctly _not_ Narnian. Before I could even respond, two of them loosed arrows. I hit the ground just in time to avoid them.

"Guess we're not going to discuss this, then," I murmured to myself as I jumped back to my feet and took off into the trees.

A few more arrows whizzed by my head as I ran, with the soldiers gaining on me with every step. A thousand ideas ran through my head, each of them more desperate than the last. I was outnumbered, unarmed, and out of practice as an Eshwen. I could feel my old battles soaking back into my muscles, but I wasn't ready to test my skill against four trained soldiers.

But then, my options disappeared. Pain pierced the back of my left thigh as an arrow finally found its target. I stumbled forward, barely breaking my fall with my right arm. I stifled a cry of pain, but I was shaking. I dug my fingers into a tree and forced myself back to my feet, but the soldiers had already surrounded me. Three of them had arrows notched and pointed at me, the other held a sword in hand. I saw the style of his helmet and the insignia on the hilt of his sword. It stirred an old memory. We hadn't dealt with them much. They were just a small people off the coast.

Telmarines.

No one spoke or moved for several seconds. I fought to catch my breath.

The man with the sword dismounted. "I suppose you have an excellent reason for skulking around so near the outpost in an area that has been off limits under pain of death for over a decade."

I furrowed my brow. A decade? Impossible. And why would Telmarines have an outpost in Narnia? I could feel blood running down my leg, soaking into my sock.

"Speak, girl!" the soldier demanded. "Or die where you stand."

He grasped his sword even tighter.

I racked my brain for anything I could remember about the Telmarines, then something clicked. They were even more superstitious than the Calormens.

I stood as tall as I could, not putting any weight on my left leg and glared at the soldier with a confidence I didn't feel.

"You should be very careful who you challenge in these woods," I said, my voice as deep and even as I could make it. "You never know what you might stumble into."

I isolated fire to my eyes, letting them glow bright yellow, then ignited both of my hands. I opened my mouth to continue my threatening monologue, but the soldiers all let out horrible shrieks.

"Demon!" One of them screamed.

The man with a sword stumbled backwards, pale and stuttering, until he found his horse. The others didn't wait for him, but all took off in a panic. Within seconds, I was alone again. I allowed myself a small smile, then lowered myself to the ground. The light was fading as darkness fell. I slowly moved to lay on my right side and felt around at the wound on my leg.

"All right, it isn't so bad," I said under my breath.

But the second my fingers brushed against the arrow, I had to press my lips together to muffle my scream. It was an awkward position to try to pull it out, but I knew I couldn't count on any help arriving. I had seen Auren do this exact thing before—pull an arrow out of her leg and heal herself. I could almost hear her voice now, telling me to simply breathe through it. The thought gave me the resolve to firmly grasp the arrow and pull as hard as I could. This time, there was no holding back the scream. I saw spots in my vision and fought to stay conscious. I hadn't even pulled the arrow all the way out.

"I can do this. I can do this," I muttered over and over to myself. "Not the easiest thing to breathe through, but okay."

I knew the bleeding would be worse as I pulled it out. I was betting on my ability to heal myself, which, to be honest, was not a great bet. I ripped a piece of my shirt off, then shoved it in my mouth to muffle my shout. I took another shaky breath and yanked the arrow out. I could feel even more warm blood coursing down my leg. I pressed my hand back into the wound.

"If Auren could do this, so can you," I whispered, knowing it might not be true.

I tried again and again to no avail, then a warm wind swept through the trees. It washed over me, calming my breathing and muting the pain for just a moment. I pressed my hand against the wound and focused all my energy. And the pain disappeared. The bleeding stopped. I let out a strange sound, a combination of a relieved laugh and a shuddering breath.

I was beyond exhausted but forced myself to my feet. It wouldn't be wise to stay in the same place too long. I walked well into the night, not making any conscious decision of my direction. I stopped when I found a fallen tree propped against several boulders and overgrown with other plants. I slid underneath the natural shelter and pulled my school blazer closer around me.

The woods were eerily quiet, save for a few crickets. How could so much have changed in the year since we had been gone? Telmarines had outposts in Narnia, the landscape had shifted drastically, and there was no sign of Auren or the others. The soldier had said the law had been in place for a decade. How—

That's when it hit me. Everything came together in my head, but instead of gasping and sitting straight up, I felt more rooted in my spot than ever before, unable to move or even breathe. We hadn't been gone for a year. Time worked differently here than it did in England. I should've known. When we came back to Professor Kirk's after having spent years and years in Narnia, no time had gone by at all.

We could have missed a century in the time we had been gone. I couldn't believe how stupid I had been not to realize it sooner. Faces crowded my mind: the Beavers, Nyx, Mr. Tumnus, Oreius, Maris, Thalen…Auren. They were all gone. They were all dead. And in the absence of the kings and queens, Telmarines had invaded and conquered the land.

I suddenly felt suffocated under the tree. I crawled out and stared up at the stars, too tired and confused to even cry. Under the wide, open sky, I felt more profoundly alone than I ever had.

"Aslan," I whispered. "What are you doing? What am _I_ supposed to do?"

The stars didn't have an answer, but the longer I looked at them, the easier it was to breath. I saw a few constellations I remembered and sat down in the grass instead of climbing back under the tree. I eventually fell asleep there, counting the stars as my company.

OoOoO

The sun had not been up long when I woke up. I was immediately reminded of all the good and bad things about sleeping outdoors. On one hand, I was dreadfully sore from the hard ground as well as dirty and uncomfortable. On the other hand, the breeze rolling over me smelled as sweet as I remembered and made it harder to focus on the other things.

I stood and stretched, finding my leg to be completely healed, though I was now covered in dried blood and dirt. I had a lot of decisions to make about what to do and where to go, but I knew the first thing I needed was water. It wasn't long before I wandered to a stream. I had only intended to drink, but the second I touched the water, dirt and blood began to wash off of my hands. Without hesitation, I threw off my blazer and dove into the water.

I was just about to climb out when I suddenly felt someone coming. I frantically looked around for somewhere to hide but only had time to lower myself until only my eyes showed.

Two women in red dresses ran out of the trees on the opposite shore. They both looked around but didn't seem to see me.

"I thought she was here," the taller one, blonde one said.

"She is," said the brunette. "I can feel it."

"Sister!" the brunette called out. "Please don't be afraid. Let us help you."

They were Eshwen. I could feel the air practically humming from their energy. They began to walk downstream, but I swam to their shore.

"Wait!" I called out.

They stopped and turned to me just as I jumped out of the water. I raised my temperature to dry my clothes and singed the sleeve of my shirt slightly. I patted the spark away.

"Sorry," I said, turning bright red. "A bit out of practice."

They were both staring at me with wide eyes. Now that I was closer to them, they looked like sisters, both with the same brown eyes and square jaws. The brunette looked strangely familiar.

I started to introduce myself, then stopped when I saw how pale she had gone.

"Your Majesty," the brunette said, her voice shaking. "It's you."

She started to kneel, but I rushed forward and grabbed her hand to pull her back up.

"No need for that," I said. "Call me Emma."

She stared intently at my face. "You're so young," she said. "It's been nearly fifteen years since I saw you."

"You're the one I saw," I said, finally recognizing her. "You're the one who appeared to me, asking for help."

She was still staring in shock. "How—"

"Amara," said the blonde woman, whom I could tell was closer to my age stepped forward. "Is this the best place for questions?"

Amara shook her head as though to clear it. "No, you're right. We need to get back to camp. Will you come with us?"

"First, I need to know…" I trailed off for a moment, almost losing my courage. "How long has it been since I was last seen in Narnia?"

She looked confused but answered me. "It has been over a thousand years since you reigned at Cair Paravel, my lady."

I snorted and shook my head. "Well, I hope nothing important happened in the last millennium."

"Please, we must go," Amara said.

I nodded and followed them into the trees. I lost track of how long we had been running, but eventually we stopped near the caves where Nyx had once lived. The thought made me feel dizzy again.

The blonde woman led the way toward the rock wall, then seemed to just disappear into the shadow. Amara followed her. I stepped forward uncertainly, hands outstretched so that I wouldn't smack my nose into the rock. Then my left hand collided with the rough edge of an opening. I felt my way through, then the passage widened until I came into the open. I was surprised not to find myself in a cave. I stepped out into a crescent-shaped clearing naturally hidden from the outside. There were rows of tents lined up and an area with tables and benches and a large, glowing firepit with a makeshift kitchen around it. Women in dresses matching Amara's milled about at work. It took my breath away.

"How?" I asked Amara. "There are so many of you. I can feel…so much."

No wonder I had felt overwhelmed earlier. There must be over twenty female Eshwen here. The most I had even been around were two.

"Come with me to my tent," Amara said. "We have much to talk about."

I followed close behind her as the sun I had not seen in so long shone overhead. I felt warm for the first time in a thousand years.


	3. A Savior, Apparently

**A/N: Hello! I am so deeply sorry for my long absence from this story. This year has been a crazy ride for all of us, and I can't believe we're already into October. Even with lockdown due to the pandemic, I found myself having trouble finding the time and motivation to write as I had a very tumultuous pregnancy with a ton of sickness. But it was all worth it as I had a healthy baby girl a few weeks ago. Ironically, now that I have a newborn, I find myself wanting to write more than ever, even if it is difficult as she tends to be a bit clingy (not that I'm complaining about sweet baby snuggles). Enjoy and drop a review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Narnia.**

Chapter 3

We didn't go to Amara's tent. She hesitated at the entrance of one, then seemed to change her mind. We followed the river that ran along the mountain side, showing me that the valley was much bigger than I had thought at first. The back of my thigh where the arrow had pierced me began to ache as I walked. Perhaps I hadn't done such a great job healing that as I thought. By the time we stopped, the camp was a small blur in the distance. We were standing at the bottom of a towering waterfall that plunged down over the cliff's edge. The banks of the river were covered in lush greenery and wildflowers, save for an almost perfect circle of burned, blackened earth on the opposite bank.

"This is where I was when we spoke," Amara said, staring at the circle. "The grass never grew back again."

The longer I looked at the burned area, the darker it seemed.

"My grandmother and my mother spent decades trying to reach you," she continued. "We had always been told that in our darkest hour, you would return from another world."

I kept staring at the burned circle, though I felt her eyes on me, watching me expectantly.

"But things just got worse and worse," she said.

I swallowed hard, trying to form words.

"I…" I stopped, clearing my throat. "Time is different in my world. I've only been gone for a year and a half."

To my surprise, Amara looked delighted. "Time is different there? Grandmere was right, then. She always said you existed out of time, above it."

"Well, I wouldn't say _above_ it," I said with a light laugh. "My world is just—"

"You really are everything we heard about, aren't you? You're here to save us."

I heard the confidence in her voice. It was strange to see an adult looking at me as though _I_ were the one and I didn't mind it.

"I'll do whatever I can." I said. "Now tell me, what ha been happening in Narnia? Why m are there Telmarines here?"

She hesitated a moment, shaking her head. "You've been gone a long time. I have much to tell you. I don't know how to sum up the past thousand years."

She paused again.

"The Telmarines invaded and conquered Narnia three-hundred years ago," she said finally. "There was no long, drawn-out war. It was quick and deadly. The massacres started soon after. Talking animals, dryads, naiads, dwarves, anything the Telmarines feared…" She shook her head. "The few remaining survivors limped off into hiding."

"What about the humans in Narnia?" I asked, though I was afraid I already knew the answer.

"You know humans," Amara sighed. "When the danger wasn't to them, they didn't do anything to stop it. Some fled to other countries, others stayed and simply inter-married with our conquerors. They were never the target."

I clenched my jaw. How many times would we be doomed to repeat our mistakes?

"So who sits on the throne now?" I asked.

"His name is Miraz. He has reigned as regent for years, waiting for his nephew to come of age. But then his wife had a son only days ago."

"Now he won't hand over the crown to his nephew," I said. "A usurper, through and through."

Amara nodded. "His nephew fled the castle. Now, he is mounting a rebellion against Miraz."

"Do you support him?" I asked.

A look of disgust contorted her face. "No. Narnia has seen enough of the Telmarines, enough of humans on the throne."

I wanted to argue, but no words rose to the defense of the humans.

"So, is it a waiting game, now?" I asked. "Waiting until the rebellion can weaken Miraz, then making our move?"

Amara shook her head. "We have waited long enough."

Her voice sounded darker than before.

"My mother was the one who started gathering the Eshwen back together," Amara continued. "I believe it was for such a time as this. Perhaps that is why you appeared now, now when the throne is finally vulnerable. We have so much to learn from you. We desperately need a teacher."

"A teacher? What—"

Before I could finish, the blonde woman we had ridden here with came into view.

"My lady!" she called to Amara. "The scouting team has returned."

She stopped in front of us, only slightly winded from her long run.

"They need to see you," she said. "There were attacked….It's Rhea. She's badly wounded."

"Take me to her," Amara said immediately. "Cassia, take Emma to her tent and—"

"No," I cut her off. "Let me help. This is why I'm here, right?"

Amara only nodded before we all rushed back to camp. We went to a central tent where three women were huddled around a bed where a fourth lay. There was a flurry of activity as one of the women cut away the wounded woman's dress to reveal her bloody under dress and an arrow protruding from just below her right collar bone. My breath caught in my throat. I could feel her fading fast, her lips completely white.

"What happened?" Amara strode forward, her voice calm.

The woman who had cut away Rhea's dress looked up at Amara, eyes wide with fear.

"We were ambushed," she said. "We never even saw them, just their volleys of arrows."

"What were you doing so near the How, anyway?" Cassia demanded angrily.

Amara waved her hand. "That's not important right now. I need hot water and plenty of bandages."

The two other women and Cassia hurried out.

"Was anyone else hurt?" I asked.

The woman seemed to notice me for the first time. "No. One of the horses has come up lame from—"

She was cut off by Rhea's cry. Amara was twisting the arrow around slowly.

"It's not in the bone," Amara said. "We'll have to enlarge the wound to get it out."

I remembered Auren talking about this, how you had to press a finger into the wound to widen it before slowly pulling the arrow out to be sure the head didn't break off and stay in the body. I couldn't believe I had forgotten. I had gotten very lucky the night before just yanking that arrow out.

Amara was working quickly with a practiced air that made me wonder how many of these wounds she had tended to. Did Telmarines always just shoot on sight?

"Where are those bandages?" Amara called.

There was an edge of urgency but no panic in her voice. Just as she said it, Cassia and another woman returned with bundles of cloth in their arms. Neither of them seemed eager to get any closer, so I grabbed the cloth from Cassia and went to Amara's side.

"Get ready to slow the bleeding," she said.

She pressed her fingers into the would and began guiding the arrow out. Rhea's eyes screwed shut as she let out a scream. The last bit of color drained from her face. Luckily, she stayed relatively still. I pressed the cloth into the side of the wound to slow the flow of blood. This wound was much deeper than mine had been. Amara stopped for a moment to make sure the whole arrow was still intact.

Amara continued extracting the arrow, but Rhea stopped screaming. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she went limp. She was still breathing, but it was much more shallow.

"Got it," Amara said at last as she examined the arrow to be sure the head was all there.

She gathered more bandages and pressed them into the wound, but the bleeding only quickened.

"She's lost so much blood," Amara said in a low voice only I could hear. "I don't know if we can…" She let her voice trail off.

I had no idea why she wasn't healing Rhea herself, but there was no time to find out. Amara was right. Rhea had already lost too much blood. I pressed my hands over the wound and pulled in as much air as my lungs would hold. I was worried Rhea would block my fire from touching her, but I was met with no resistance. My hands glowed. I did not know how much time passed before I finally released my breath and moved my hands. There was an angry, red mark on her chest like she had been wounded a week ago. As I stared, it turned more and more white like an old scar. I waited for it to disappear all together, but it didn't.

I looked up at her face and realized she was younger than I had first thought. She was probably no older than sixteen. Her strawberry blond hair stuck to her sweaty forehead, but the longer I looked at her, the less pale she seemed. Finally, all color had returned to her cheeks. She did not wake but clearly shifted from unconsciousness to a deep sleep.

"She will need plenty of rest to recover. You may want to have another healer look at her," I said to the others. "Healing is not my gift."

No one answered. I turned to see Amara and the others staring at me. I opened my mouth to ask them why they looked so stunned, but then it hit me.

"You can't do this," I said softly. "You don't have control of your flames, do you?"

"Not like that," Amara said in awe. "No, we don't."

That's what I was there to teach them. This was why Aslan had brought me back again. Our people were together in numbers I had never seen, but their power had been so repressed that it now slumbered in their blood.

OoOoO

We still had a few hours left before the evening meal, so Amara had Cassia take me to my tent. We walked in a silence that I hoped was more comfortable for her than it was for me. Cassia still hadn't spoken by the time she led me into a small tent on the outer reaches of camp.

She reminded me of Maris, though not physically with Cassia's light hair and hazel eyes. It was the way she carried herself as though she knew terrible things and looked at me as though trying to determine exactly how much she could trust me. It was a harsh look of calculation, of suspicion.

She walked back out, then reappeared with a red dress draped over her arm.

"I thought you might want to get out of those clothes," she said.

Her tone was so flat I couldn't tell if this had come from judgement or concern.

I looked down and fully realized how torn and bloody my clothes were.

"Ah, yes, thank you," I said, taking the dress. "You're Cassia, right? I'm—"

"I know who you are," she said. She paused, then continued. "You're not exactly what I expected."

"Is that a good thing?" I asked, trying to keep my tone light under her heavy gaze.

She stared at me for a long moment.

"You look like you should get some rest," she said finally. "I will make sure someone comes to get you for our evening gathering," she said. "Do you need help dressing?"

"No, I'm sure I can handle that myself, thank you," I said.

She gave me a quick nod, then left. I stripped off my ruined school uniform and pulled the red dress over my head. It was loose but in a comfortable way once I tightened the belt around my waist. I was just grateful to see it was long enough. I stared down at my clothes from England for a long moment before kicking them under the bed and out of sight.

It felt as though I had just laid down when I heard someone coming into the tent and jumped out of bed. A young girl, probably no older than seven or eight, stood at the entrance looking startled.

"My apologies, Your Majesty," she said. "I was sent to wake you for dinner."

Sure enough, the light outside was already beginning to dim. The little girl's hair was braided behind her and was missing a tooth in front. I wasn't sure if it was her wide, innocent eyes or the freckles across her nose that reminded me of a younger Lucy. The thought made me miss the Pevensies even more.

I realized several seconds had gone by without my responding to the girl.

"Thank you," I said. "I'll be right—wait, did you call me 'Your Majesty?'"

The girl looked nervous.

"I'm sorry, what should I call you?"

"Oh, don't apologize!" I said, feeling guilty. "I just—Emma. Just call me Emma. I was never royal, anyway. Emma is just fine."

The girl nodded furiously before fleeing from the tent.

"Oh, bother," I whispered to myself before leaving the tent behind her.

I felt a flutter of nerves in my stomach as I saw the women gathering by a bonfire at the center of camp. There were long tables laid with a rich dinner where people were already seated, everyone talking jovially. Amara spotted me when I got closer and came to meet me. A hush fell over the crowd as everyone turned their eyes to us, expectation hanging in the air.

"Sisters!" Amara called out, taking my hand. "May I present to you the one who has traveled across time to deliver us again as she did before from the hands of the White Witch, the one who cheated death to resurrect our people: Emma, the Radiant!"

She raised our hands at the end as a cheer went up over the camp. Heat rushed to my cheeks.

"Amara, I wouldn't say—" I began.

"With Emma by my side, we will march into the heart of Miraz's castle and take back the throne he stole!" Amara continued, ignoring me. "The Eshwen will no longer hide in the shadows!"

Another cheer went up, and my heart beat faster, I should correct her. I should clarify that I wasn't really the one who defeated the witch.

But I didn't.

Amara pulled me to the center table and to the chair next to hers as five children came to the fire in the center.

"The Ballad of Alyna, The Great and Radiant One," the little girl I recognized from before declared.

As everyone ate dinner, she and the other children began acting out mine and the Pevensies adventures from the last time we were in Narnia, though it went very differently than I remembered. In their version, I was the clear hero. I discovered Narnia first. I saved the others from the wolves and led the way to the army at the Stone Table. I charged into battle and saved Edmund. And most importantly, I killed the Witch with my own hand. The Pevensies all took a backseat to me and my heroics, but the most gaping exclusion was the lack of Aslan. He was not mentioned at all. The show ended with applause, then everyone turned to look at me.

I got to my feet immediately. I should set the story straight.

"Thank you for all of this," I said. "I..."

I shook my head, completely unsure of what to say.

Amara reached over and took my hand again. She gave me a reassuring smile.

"Tomorrow, we will eliminate the false prince and lead the rebellion for ourselves!" Amara announced.

"Tomorrow," she said, lowering her voice so that only I could hear her. "We kill Prince Caspian."


End file.
